Coin-separator.



A. B. FLAGG L W. H. LIVERMORE.

GOIN SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 9. 190s.

1 ,O24,442 Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

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A. B. FLAGG n W. H. LIVERMORE.

GOIN SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 9, 1909. 1 ,024,442, Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

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GOIN SBPARATOR.

APPLIOATNN FILED JUNB9,1909.

Y Patented A101123, 1912.

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tlNlTED STATES i PATENT FFME.

ARTHUR B. FLAGG", OF WORCESTER, AND' WALTER H. LIVERMORE, OF BOSTON, MAS- SACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS T0 LIVERMORE PAY STATION COMPANY, OF BOSTON,

MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION 0F' MAINE.

COIN-SEPARATOR.

Patented Apr. 23, i912. Divided and this application led .Tune 9,

1909. Serial No. 591,203.

To all whom fit may concern:

Be it known that we, ARTHUR B. FLAGG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of Torcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and VAL- TER H. LIVERMORE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Coin-Separators, of which the following is a specification, forming a division of our joint application for a coin-cont-rolled pay-station for telephones, tiled on or about December 26, 1905, Serial N o. 293,17 5, accompanied by drawings forming a part of the same, in which- Figure l represents a rear view of a telephone pay station embodying our invention and having the back removed to disclose the interior mechanism. Fig. 2 is a similar view but having the rear coin channel plate removed, showing the coin separator and the channel separating plate. Fig. 3 is a similar view having the rear channel plate removed and the channel separating plate .and coin separator removed, in order to disclose the recessed side ofthe front channel plate. Fig. 4: is a vertical sect-ional view through the channel plates on line 1 -it, Fig. l. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view through the channel plates on line 5 5, Fig. l. uFig. 6

is a side elevation of the coin separator.A Fig. 7 is a top view of the coin separator.`

Fig. 8 is an end view of the coin separator. Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view of the coin separator on line 9 9, Fig. 6. Fig. 10 is a rear elevation having the back of the case and the channel plates removed to disclose the resonant gong plate, and Fig. 11 is a side elevation shown in central vertical sect-ion, on line 11-11, Fig. 1.

Similar reference letters and figures refer to similar parts in the different views.

Our present invention relates particularly to a coin separator, whiclris shown embodied in a coin controlled pay station adapted to be used in connection with the sound transmitting apparatus of a telephone, designed for the payment of tolls of diiierent values by the use of a single pay station.

The apparatus which embodies our imsignaling apparatus.

proved coin separator, as illustrated in t-he accompanying drawings, comprises a coin channel for the reception of coins of different values in the payment of telephone tolls, a separator by which the coins are separated according to their respective denominations, and individual channels for the separated lcoins leading to signal devices, with means for transmitting the signals to the central oiiice.

Our invention has for its able tolls of dilierent values to be paid by the employment of a single coin receiving slot or channel, by effecting a. separation of the coins according to their respective values, in order that the admission of each individual coin may be indicated by its appropriate signal; to produce an audible signal by the diiiierent coins in their passage through the apparatus without too great a deection in the path of the coin, and these objects, among others, we accomplish by the construction and arrangement of parts as hereinafter described and pointed out in the annexed claims.

As illustrated in the accompanying drawings, our improved device comprises a box 1 inclosing the coin channels and the sound Vithin the box are posts 2, 2, more clearly shown in Fig. 1l, to which are attached the channel plates 3 and 4, with intervening washers 5 of felt, vulcanized liber, or other sound non-conducting material, in order to check the transmission of sound caused by the moving coin from the channel plates to the posts 2. The top of the box l is provided with a slit G and a projecting slotted plate 7 through which coins are admitted to a channel 8 formed between the channel plates 3 and 4. The upper end of the channel 8 is considerably wider than the thickness of the coin to be admitted, and a short distance below the top of the box the channel is contracted to form shoulders 9, which are curved or inclined to the line of movement of the coin in the coin channel, one of these shoulders is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The object of these shoulders is to check the movement of the coin as itl passes to the contracted space in the channel, and thereby prevent an undue momentum from being imparted to the objects to encoin by the operator. The shoulders 9, 9, as shown in Fig. 11, are beveled so that, if the movement of a. coin should be checked by one of the shoulders, the coin will slide by gravity into the -contracted portion 10 of the channel. After passing the shoulders 9, the coin is defiected from a right line and caused to pass around a raised boss 11 designed to still further retard the movement of the coin as it enters the upper end of the coin separator. The coin separator is clamped between the channel plates 3 and 4, and it consists of an inclined trough 12 open at the top and substantially triangular in cross section. The rear side of the coin separator, or that lying next the channel plate 4, is shown in Fig. 2, by the withdrawal of the channel plate 4, and the front side of the coin separator lying next the channel plate 3 is represented in Fig. 6.

Below the coin separator or trough 12 we insert a separator plate 13, by which the channels formed in the plates 3 and 4 are separated, so as to form two sides of the channels leading downward through the channel plates from the trough 12. The trough 12 is provided with openings in its sides to permit the coins entering the upper end of t-he trough to be deflected and pass through the openings and fall into the coin channels upon one side or the other of the separator plate 13. The front side of the trough 12 is provided with an opening 14, through which coins of the largest diameter are defiected into a coin channel 15 formed in the channel plate 3, and through which the coin descends in front of the separator plate 13, The trough 12 is also provided on its front side with an opening 16 through which coins of the next size are deflected into the coin channel 17 formed in the channel plate 3, through which the coins descendin front of the separator plate 13. The opposite or rear side of the trough 12 is pro vided with an opening 18 through which the third size of coins is deflected to the rear of the separator plate 13 into a coin channel 19 formed in the channel plate 4, the sides of said channel being indicated by the broken lines 20, Fig. 1. The rear side of the trough 12 is also provided with an opening 21, through which the fourth size of coins is deflected through an opening 22 in the channel plate 4 and caused to fall outside the channel plate into a receptacle 23. Coins which are too small in diameter to be deflected through either of the four openings in the trough 12 roll entirely through the trough, and are delivered through an opening 24 in the bottom of the trough into a coin channel 25, shown in Fig. 1 as inclosed between the broken lines 26. The trough 12 is, therefore, capable of controlling the movement of coins of five different diameters, such, for example, as pieces of the following denominations, namely, fifty cents, twenty-five cents, five cents, one cent, and ten cents, said coins being delivered from the trough 12 in the order named, corresponding to their diameters, a fty cent coin being delivered through the opening 14 into the coin channel 15 of the plate 3, and a twenty-five cent piece being delivered through the opening 16 into the coin channel 17 of the plate 3, both of said coins being delivered through a common spout 27 into the coin receptacle 23. A five centpiece is delivered through the opening 18 into the coin channel 19, the one cent piece is delivered through the openings 21 and 22 outside the channel plate 4 and allowed to fall into the receptacle 23, while the ten cent piece continuing through the trough 12 falls by gravity through the opening 24 into the coin channel 25. Both the five cent piece passing through the channel 19 and the ten cent piece passing throughthe channel 25 are delivered through a common spout 28 into the coin receptacle 23.

The trough 12, when held between the channel plates 3 and 4, is supported with its front side 29 next the channel plate 3 in a vertical position, as shown in Fig. 8, vand with its rear side 30 in an inclined position, so that a coin entering the upper end of the trough 12 will be tipped and rest against the inclined side 30 of the trough.

Extending across the top of the trough are a series of curved deflectors 31, 32, 33 and 34 placed at successively decreasing distances above the bottom of the trough, the first deflector 31 being arranged to strike the upper edge of the largest coin or fifty cent piece and deflect it toward the side 29 of the trough and through the opening 14. The

deflector 32 1s at a less height from the bottom of the trough and arranged to contact with the next size of the coin or the twentyfive cent piece and defiect it through the opening 1G. The third deiiecto-r 33 is adapted to contact with the top of a five cent piece and deflect it against a projecting spur 35 which causes the coin to swing slightly on its base and drop through the opening 18 in the side 30 of the trough. The one cent piece continuing its movement is deflected by the curved deflector 34 against a similar spur 36, causing the coin to fall through the opening 21 in the side 30 of the trough, while the ten cent piece continues its movement beneath all the deflectors until it falls through the opening 24 in the bot-tom of t-he trough. In order to facilitate the passage of the five and one cent coins through the openings 18 and 21, we slightly contract the width vof the trough opposite the openings 18 and 21 by pressing in, or recessing the vertical side 29,

as shown at 29a, Figs. 6 and 7.

By the operation of the trough 12, two sizes of coins, to wit, the fifty cents and twenty-live cents, are delivered through the spout 27, while the live cent and ten cent Vcoins are delivered through the spout 28 into the coin receptacle 23, while the one cent coin falling through the opening 21 of the trough and the opening 22 of the rear channel plate falls outside of the channel plates into the cash receptacle. The upper end of the coin channel 15 is slightly inclined so that the coin in entering the channel 15 will move by gravity toward an opening 37 in the side wall of the channel and, at a point midway the opening 37 and just outside a straight line connecting the ends 38 and 39 of the side wall, we place a wire 40 held in a bracket 41 and forming part of a coiled wire gong 42, so that a coin passing down the inclined channel 15 will be brought in contact with the wire and vibrate the gong 42, thence passing around the curved portion of the channel 15 to the spout 27, in front of which is located a similar wire 48 held in a bracket 44 and forming part of a coiled wire gong 45, said coin producing two audible signals in its passage to the coin receptacle 23. The twenty-five cent coin entering the channel 17 passes downward through the spout 27 and is likewise brought into contact with the wire 43, thereby producing a single sound signal. The five cent coin delivered through the opening 18 into the coin channel 19 is delivered through the spout 28 against the lower edge 46a of a bell 46, and the ten cent piece rolling through the entire length of the trough contacts with the Lipper edge 46b of the bell 46 and falls through the opening 24 of the trough into the channel 25, and is delivered through the opening 28 into contact with the lower edge 46a of the bell 46. The five cent piece, therefore, produces a single sound signal upon the bell 46, while the ten cent piece produces a double sound signal upon the same bell.

The coiled wire gongs 42 and 45 are supported by brackets 41 and 44, which arev attached to the lower half of a resonant steel plate 47. The upper half of the steel plate 47 is supported upon posts 48 attached to the box 1, so that the vibrations of the gongs 42 and 45 and of the bell 46 will be conveyed to the resonant plate 47. The front side of the box 1 is provided with an opening 49 to which the base 50 of the transmitter and arm 51 is attached.

In the operation of our apparatus the sound of the moving coins within the channels of the plates 3 and 4 is prevented from being conducted through the box 1 to the telephone transmitter by the sound insulating washers 5, while the vibrations of the signal gongs and bell are magnified by the vibrations of the resonant steel plate 47, causing sharp and well dened sound signals to be transmitted to the central office,

distinct from any interfering sounds produced by the movement of the coins in the coin channels.

Our improved apparatus enables four distinct tolls to be received at an individual pay station, namely, fifty cents, twenty-live cents, ten cents, and five cents, and this is accomplished without requiring separate slots for each denomination, which is liable to lead to confusion and mistakes on the part ofthe operator. As all denominations of coin are entered through a single slot or opening, no mistake can be made by the operator, and each coin, whatever its denomination, is automatically conducted by the coin separating trough 12 to its proper channel, thereby unerringly controlling the sound signal according to the size of the coins.

We obtain a clear and loud signal from each of the gongs and from opposite edges of the bell by placing the gong wire and the edges of the bell which are struck by the coin just outside the line of side wall of the coin channels, and beyond the path of the coin, and by providing an opening large enough to allow the forward edge of the coin to strike squarely against the wire of the bell, and we further incline the coin channels immediately in front of the gong wire or bell in order that the momentum of the rolling coin may expend its full force against the wire or bell. In sounding a signal, therefore, the coin is caused to roll freely down an inclined section of the coin channel and strike the sounding device placed beyond the line of the side wall, and by a rebound be returned at an angle to the line of its former movement either into a continuation of the channel or into the coin receptacle.

We claim,

1".' A coin separator, comprising a longitudinally inclined trough triangular in cross section, with its apex at the bottom to form a track for the edge of a coin, having one of its sides in a substantially vertical plane and the other side inclined therefrom, an oblong opening for the delivery of a coin through said vertical side, and a curved deflector extending from said inclined side across said trough at a predetermined distance above the bottom of the trough in position to engage the upper edge of a coin and impart a twisting movement thereto by which it is deflected through said opening.

2. A coin separator, comprising a longitudinally inclined trough triangular in cross section, with its apex at the bottom to form a track for the edge of a coin, having one of its sides in substantially a vertical plane and the other side inclined there* from, said vertical side having multiple oblong openings for the delivery of coins therethrough, and curved deflectors extending from the inclined side of said trough plane and the other side inclined therefrom,

said inclined side having an oblong opening for the delivery of a coin, a curved defiector extending from said inclined side across the trough at a predetermined distance from its bottom and adapted to engage the upper edge of a coin and impart a twisting movement thereto, and a spur projecting into said trough from its vert-ical side and in advance of said de'liector.

4. A coin separator, comprising a longitudinally inclined trough triangular in cross section, With one side in substantially a vertical plane, With the other side inclined therefrom, openings in the vertical and inclined sides for the delivery of coins, deiiecting means for each of said openings whereby coins are deflected from the inclined side of the trough through said opening, a separator plate beneath said trough and channel plates on each side of said separator plate adapted to receive the coins as they are delivered through opposite sides of 35 the trough.

5. A coin separator, comprising a longitu-Y ARTHUR B. FLAGG. WALTER H. LIVERMORE.

Witnesses:

RUrUs B. FOWLER, H. M. FOWLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C. 

